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Ohio woman offers kidney to classmate she hadn’t seen in 28 years

Leonard Hayhurst
Published 2:07 p.m. ET May 17, 2014

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Vicki Clark and Bill Moody are former classmates at Coshocton High School that hadn’t seen each other for 28 years until Clark volunteered to give Moody a kidney.
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COSHOCTON – Billy Moody and Vicki Regan Clark hadn’t seen each other in 28 years, but now they are forever a part of each other.

The former classmates at Coshocton High School ran track together but drifted apart through the years. About a year ago, Clark’s sister said Moody had kidney disease and needed a transplant. With little hesitation, Clark offered to donate a kidney. She was surprised when Moody was hesitant.

“I put her off for a couple weeks. I kept saying no,” he said. “A lot of people will tell you they want to, but then they’ll back out on you, which is completely understandable. It’s a big, life-changing thing, but she was really persistent about it.”

For Clark, no wasn’t an option. Her mother-in-law and father-in-law had kidney failure leading up to their deaths, and her cousin had died of kidney failure. She unsuccessfully tried to donate a kidney to her mother-in-law.

“With all that on my heart and my mind, I had been thinking about what I could do to make a difference for someone,” Clark said. “I’m not the kind of person to put myself out there and withdraw. I’m there for the whole run of the race.”

Moody said he was stunned by Clark’s generosity and continues to be astounded by the giving nature of the Coshocton community. A benefit to help Moody pay medical fees not covered by insurance will be May 30 at the Coshocton Moose Lodge.

It will feature a concert by Route 83 and Minus One, which features Moody on lead guitar. He missed only one gig with the group and was back on stage two weeks after the transplant surgery.

Moody was on the kidney donation list for 988 days and had undergone dialysis for four years. Last August, the pair found out they were compatible for the transplant surgery, which took place April 4. Both are doing well now, though Moody had a mild post-surgery complication.

Clark said she is thrilled to see the color back in Moody’s cheeks and the life in his eyes.

The night before the surgery at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, they were told the surgery had been moved from 11 a.m. to 7 a.m. Moody was jumping up and down with excitement; on the other side of the ward, Clark was having a meltdown.

“I don’t know why it was so different, but after 15 minutes, I pulled myself together and said: ‘That’s what I’m here for,’ ” Clark said.

“I just wanted to get it over with,” Moody said. “I was scared to death, but I was tickled to death too.”

Nurses were amazed Clark was up walking the halls the evening of the transplant. She wanted to go to Moody’s room and see how he was doing. Hardly a day goes by now they don’t have contact.

Every now and again, the pair will think about how they are linked and how a part of Clark is now a part of Moody. Just the other day, Clark called Moody just to say, “Do you realize I gave you a kidney?”

“It does hit you,” Moody said. “You’re sitting around and it’s just ‘Wow, I’ve got a kidney from someone else in me and everything is working and everything is starting to come back.’”

For Clark, it’s an honor to know she has improved the quality of life for someone else. She’d do it again if she could and encourages anyone who might be on the fence of being a donor or recipient to do research and take the plunge.

“It’s a life-altering decision, and there could be some risks to it,” she said. “But it’s an incredible journey.”

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @llhayhurst

If you go

• What:

Benefit for Billy Moody to help pay expenses after kidney transplant surgery

•

When: 4 p.m. May 30, with music to start at 9 p.m.

•

Where: Coshocton Moose Lodge

•

FYI: The event will include a cake auction, a silent auction, a standard auction, a 50-50 drawing, raffles, food, and performances by Route 83 and Minus One.